Paging system and method using wireless communication

ABSTRACT

A paging system comprise paging buttons configured to transmit a first signal including a paging request; a server configured to: receive the first signal, identify which of the paging buttons transmit the first signal received by the server, and transmit to at least one portable device a second signal including information on an identifier corresponding to the identified paging button that transmits the first signal, and the paging request; and at least one portable device configured to: display the identifier corresponding to the identified paging button and/or the paging request based on the second signal, and transmit to the server a third signal in response to an acceptance input responded to the paging request. The server transmits to at least one portable device a fourth signal confirming that the portable device transmitting the third signal is matched to the identified paging button in response to the third signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/422,945 filed May 24, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/104,851 filed on Aug. 17, 2018, which is acontinuation-in-part of International Patent Application No.PCT/KR2017/001257 filed on Feb. 6, 2017, which claims the priority toKorean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0015186 filed with the KoreanIntellectual Property Office on Feb. 2, 2017, in which the entirecontents are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to apaging system and method using a wireless communication. Moreparticularly, some embodiments of the present disclosure may relate to abeacon paging system capable of transferring to a service provider asignal corresponding to a request by using Bluetooth low energy (BLE)beacon devices enabling users to request service. In turn, the serviceprovider is able to receive and store the request as a record, alongwith accurately and rapidly identifying each respective requests.

BACKGROUND

Through the industrial revolution and the information revolution,society is undergoing a hyper-connectivity revolution based on theInternet of Things (IoT), where everything can be connected to theInternet. Currently, things connected to the internet are less than 1%of all objects, but various innovations and business opportunities canbe created in the future by using IoT technology.

As an example of ubiquitous IoT services, an internet-connected vehiclemay support a service of automatically transmitting an emergency messageand an autonomous driving service. In addition, healthcare products thatmay measure heart rate, the amount of exercise, etc. may supporthealthcare services. Smart homes services may include remote controlservices of home appliances or closed-circuit television (CCTV)monitoring.

IoT technologies may include sensing technologies, wired and wirelesscommunication and network infrastructure technologies, and IoT serviceinterfacing technologies. Such sensing technologies may include remotesensing by use of traditional sensors, such as a temperature sensor, ahumidity sensor, a thermal sensor, a gas sensor, an illumination sensor,and an ultrasonic sensor; physical sensors that may acquire informationfrom a physical object or surroundings such as a synthetic apertureradar (SAR), radar, a position sensor, a motion sensor, and an imagesensor. Physical sensors are advancing to smart sensors that havestandard interfaces and information processing capabilities to enhanceapplication properties. Also, physical sensors may have a virtualsensing function of extracting certain information from sensed data andthe virtual sensing function that may be implemented within IoT serviceinterfaces. IoT sensing technologies employ a multiple sensor technologythat is more advanced than conventional independent sensors and allowextraction of more intelligent and high-dimensional information.

Wired or wireless communication and IoT network infrastructuretechnologies may include all communication services, apparatuses, andnetwork infrastructures that are used for networking humans, devices,and services regardless of communication protocols and physical layerssuch as wireless personal area networks (WPAN), Wi-Fi, 3G/4G/LTE,Bluetooth, Ethernet, broadband convergence network (BcN), satellitecommunication, microware, serial communication, and power linecommunication.

The IoT service interface enables interfacing of IoT entities such ashumans, devices, and services with application services each of whichprovide a specific function. The IoT service interface is not a simplenetwork interface, but a comprehensive term that provides or facilitatesa variety of interfacing operations, for providing services, including:sensing, manipulation, extraction, processing, and storing ofinformation; determination; situation awareness; recognition; securityand privacy protection; authentication and authorization; discovery;object formalization; ontology-based semantics, open sensor-API,virtualization, positioning, processor management, open platforms,middleware; data mining; Web Services; and social network services.

Recently, device to device (D2D) communication may be performed by usinga Bluetooth technology that is mainly used as a near field networktechnology, by using the same, uni-directional as well as bi-directionaldata whereby transmission and reception is available.

Bluetooth technology may replace multiple cable connections which arerequired between devices with a single wireless connection within alocal area. For example, when Bluetooth wireless technology isimplemented in a mobile phone and a laptop computer, the mobile phoneand the laptop computer may be used without being connected to a cable.All types of digital devices including printers, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), desktop computers, fax machines, keyboards, andjoysticks may be a part of a Bluetooth system. The Bluetooth wirelesstechnology allows devices to be free from cables and acts as a universalbridge in forming an interface between an existing data network andperipheral devices. This particular group between devices are spacedapart from a fixed network lower structure. Bluetooth has been designedto be operated even in a radio frequency environment with much noise.Therefore, Bluetooth ensures connection using rapid recognition and afrequency hopping method. A Bluetooth module performs new frequencyhopping after receiving or sending a packet, thereby avoidinginterference with other signals. Compared to other systems which areoperated in the same frequency, Bluetooth uses particularly fast andshort packets. Meanwhile, with the announcement of Bluetooth 4.0 withfeatures including classic Bluetooth, Bluetooth high speed and Bluetoothlow energy, interest in Bluetooth low energy technology is increasing.

In ultra near field communication technology, near field communication(NFC) is well known. When such NFC and RFID technology are used, beaconsor iBeacon technology uses a Bluetooth bandwidth of 2.4 GHz.

Such a beacon may provide information customized according to movementof a user since the beacon can accurately identify the position of theuser at a short distance. Accordingly, there are many applications inthe marketing field.

The beacon technologies use a low powered device using Bluetooth lowenergy (BLE) that is Bluetooth version 4.0. This technology is alsoattracting attention.

In a conventional Bluetooth version, there are limitations on powerefficiency and a number of devices that can be connected at the sametime. In Bluetooth version 4.0, power consumption has been remarkablyimproved so that use for one year or more is available with a singlecoin-shaped battery and there is no limit on the number of devices thatare connected at the same time. Accordingly, beacon services can becomemore widely available.

One of the beacon's feature is the ability to recognize ranges from 10cm to 100 m and is available according to output power, along with theposition of an individual that can be accurately identified even indoorswith limited space no matter how many people there are. This informationis consistent with an individual that may transmit different messagessince each device provides different types of information.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the present disclosure may relate to a pagingsystem and method. In some exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the paging system may comprise a paging button configured tooutput a signal of a predefined specific RF (AM, FM) frequency, and adisplay device configured to receive and output the signal on a screen.In some embodiments, the paging system may be capable of connectingvarious devices by using IoT technology to further evolve and eliminatelimitations on approaching distances. Further, according to certainembodiments of the present disclosure, the paging system may transfer apaging number as well as requirements, checking a response time andstore the paging object and the response time as data.

In addition, in order to expand the functions of a conventional pagingsystem and provide efficient transmission in a paging button, a beaconmay selectively transfer a signal including information of variousrequests of a user who presses the paging button. In addition, areceiver may provide a fast response by expressing the intentionimmediately rather than simply recognizing whether or not a requestsignal is input. For example, a smart watch, a smartphone, or a specialpurpose terminal carried or worn by the receiver may receive the requestsignal so that an efficient service may be available during busy workprocessing.

In addition, for according to certain exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the manager who manages the entire service andservice processing for a user who has inputted a paging request maycheck whether or not a response service has actually been provided tothe customer. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, thereceiver may directly move to a position where the user who has inputtedthe paging request and interacts with the user, while checking whetheror not an actual response service is provided and the elapsed time maybe stored and managed as data. Accordingly, the entire service qualitymay be improved.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method and pagingsystem may be capable of efficiently providing a response service when apaging button transmitting a beacon signal receives a paging signal.

Accordingly, an object of certain embodiments of the present disclosuremay be to provide an environment where communication between a personwho inputs a paging request and a person who receives the paging requestand may perform the paging request rapidly and/or accurately by using anwireless signal, for example, but limited to, a BLE beacon signal.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a pagingsystem may comprise a plurality of paging buttons configured to transmita first signal including at least one paging request; a serverconfigured to: receive the first signal including the paging request,identify which of the paging buttons transmits the first signal receivedby the server, and transmit to at least one portable device a secondsignal including information on an identifier corresponding to theidentified paging button that transmits the first signal and the pagingrequest; at least one portable device configured to: display theidentifier corresponding to the identified paging button and/or thepaging request based on the second signal transmitted from the server,and transmit to the server a third signal in response to an acceptanceinput responded to the paging request, wherein the server is configuredto transmit to the at least one portable device a fourth signalconfirming that the at least one portable device transmitting the thirdsignal is matched to the identified paging button in response to thethird signal received from the at least one portable device.

In certain embodiments, the system may further comprise at least oneaccess point (AP) configured to receive the first signal from one of thepaging buttons and transmit the first signal to the server.

In some embodiments, the first signal may be a Bluetooth low energy(BLE) signal.

In various embodiments, the identified paging button and/or the at leastone portable device may be configured to transmit to the server a fifthsignal including tagging information between the identified pagingbutton and the at least one portable device.

In certain embodiments, the paging buttons may be configured to:transmit a first BLE signal to the AP in response to the paging requestinput to the paging buttons, and transmit a second BLE signal to the APperiodically regardless of the paging request input to the pagingbuttons.

In some embodiments, the first BLE signal and the second BLE signal maybe different from each other, the first BLE signal transmitted inresponse to the paging request may include the at least one pagingrequest, and the second BLE signal transmitted to the AP periodicallymay not include the at least one paging request.

In various embodiments, when the server receives a plurality of thethird signals from a plurality of the at least one portable device, theserver may be configured to select one of the plurality of the at leastone portable device according to at least one predetermined factor andmatch the identified paging button with the selected portable device.

In certain embodiments, the server may be configured to select aportable device, from which the server receives the third signal first,among the plurality of the at least one portable device for apredetermined time.

In various embodiments, the tagging information may be generated whenthe at least one portable device is in contact with the paging button.

In some embodiments, the tagging information may be generated when theat least one portable device approaches the paging button within apreset distance range.

In certain embodiments, the system may further comprise a spatialmanagement WEB server configured to manage the tagging informationbetween the at least one portable device and the paging button.

In various embodiments, the system may comprise at least one customerdevice associated with one of the paging bells and configured to receiveweb order information from the server.

In some embodiments, the server may be configured to perform matchingbetween the one of the paging buttons having transmitted the firstsignal and the customer device receiving the web order information.

In certain embodiments, the server may be configured to perform thematching based on the first signal transmitted from the one of thepaging buttons and to determine that the matching has been performedbetween the one of the paging buttons and the at least one customerdevice when the at least one customer device transmits the web orderinformation to the server.

According to various embodiments of the present application, a pagingmethod may comprise: transmitting, by one of a plurality of pagingbuttons, a first signal including at least one paging request;receiving, by a server, the first signal including the paging request,identifying, by the server, which of the paging buttons transmits thefirst signal received by the server, and transmitting, by the server, toat least one portable device a second signal including information onidentifier corresponding to the identified paging button that transmitsthe first signal, and the paging request; displaying, by the at leastone portable device, the identifier corresponding to the identifiedpaging button and/or the paging request based on the second signaltransmitted from the server; transmitting, by the at least one portabledevice, to the server a third signal in response to an acceptance inputresponded to the paging request; and transmitting, by the server, to theat least one portable device a fourth signal confirming that the atleast one portable device transmitting the third signal is matched withthe identified paging button in response to the third signal receivedfrom the at least one portable device.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, by atleast one access point (AP), the first signal from one of the pagingbuttons and transmitting, by the at least one AP, the first signal tothe server.

In certain embodiments, the first signal is a Bluetooth low energy (BLE)signal.

In various embodiments, the method may further comprise transmitting, bythe identified paging button and/or the at least one portable device, tothe server a fifth signal including tagging information between theidentified paging button and the at least one portable device.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise transmitting, bythe paging buttons, BLE signals to the at least one AP periodically.

In certain embodiments, the method may further comprise, when the serverreceives a plurality of the third signals from a plurality of the atleast one portable device, selecting, by the server, one of theplurality of the at least one portable device according to at least onepredetermined factor and match the identified paging button with theselected portable device.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a paging systemmay include: at least one paging button positioned at a specific spaceby being matched thereon; an access point (AP) receiving a Bluetooth lowenergy (BLE) signal transmitted from the at least one paging button; anoperational server receiving a paging signal from the AP, andidentifying a paging button that has transmitted a paging request basedon the paging signal transmitted from the least one paging button; andat least one smart watch displaying paging information based on thepaging signal transmitted from the operational server, wherein when thesmart watch receives an acceptance input signal for the paging signaltransmitted from the operational server, the smart watch transmits amatching signal to the operational server, the operational server is setto transmit a matching confirmation signal to the at least one smartwatch in response to the received matching signal, and the operationalserver receives tagging information between the smart watch havingtransmitted the matching signal and the paging button having transmittedthe paging request, thus completes the paging request.

Preferably, the at least one paging button may transmit a BLE signal tothe AP when paging request information is input to the paging button,and transmit a BLE signal to the AP based on a preset transmissionperiod regardless of the paging request information that is input to thepaging button.

Preferably, the BLE signal transmitted when the paging button receivesthe paging request signal and the BLE signal transmitted regardless ofthe reception of the paging request information may be different, andthe BLE signal transmitted when the paging request information isreceived may further include information indicating a paging request.

In addition, when the operational server receives a plurality ofmatching signals from the at least one smart watch, the operationalserver may match the paging button with one smart watch.

Preferably, the operational server may match the paging button with asmart watch corresponding to a matching signal received first amongmatching signals received for a predetermined time after the at leastone smart watch has transmitted the paging signal.

Preferably, the tagging information may be information generated afterthe smart watch is physically in contact with the paging button.

Preferably, the tagging information may be information generated whenthe smart watch approaches the paging button within a preset distancerange.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a pagingsystem may include: at least one paging button positioned at a specificspace by being matched thereon; an access point (AP) receiving aBluetooth low energy (BLE) signal transmitted from the at least onepaging button; an operational server receiving a paging signal from theAP, and identifying a paging button that has transmitted a pagingrequest based on the paging signal transmitted from the at least onepaging button; at least one smart watch displaying paging informationbased on the paging signal transmitted from the operational server; andat least one smartphone receiving web order information from theoperational server when the paging button transmits a BLE signalincluding information indicating a paging request, wherein when thesmart watch receives an acceptance input signal for the paging signaltransmitted from the operational server, the smart watch transmits amatching signal to the operational server, the operational server is setto transmit a matching confirmation signal to the at least one smartwatch in response to the received matching signal, and the operationalserver receives tagging information between the smart watch havingtransmitted the matching signal and the paging button having transmittedthe paging request, thus completes the paging request.

Preferably, the operational server may be set to perform matchingbetween the paging button having transmitted a paging request signal andthe smartphone receiving the web order information.

Preferably, the operational server may determine that matching betweenthe paging button and the smartphone has been performed when thesmartphone receives a BLE signal transmitted from the paging button, andthe smartphone transmits order information to the operational server.

The smartphone may be a smartphone of a user who inputs a paging requestsignal to the paging button.

In addition, the smartphone may be a smartphone belonging to a providerof the paging system.

According to some embodiments of a paging system of the presentdisclosure, information on whether or not an actual response is providedto a customer can be checked after transmitting a paging signal.

In addition, according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure,after transmitting a paging signal, a paging request and/or a customerrequest may be transferred to a plurality of service providers at thesame time so that a fast response can be provided to the customer. Inaddition, information on whether or not an actual response is providedand data used for determining an elapsed time for the actual responsecan be provided by a receiver who has accepted the paging signal as thereceiver directly moves to the position where the person who has inputthe paging request is present. Accordingly, the entire service qualitycan be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates beacon paging buttons according to exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a beacon AP according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a conceptual diagram of an embodiment of apaging system according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a process or method for paging andresponding according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart for ordering food according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of exemplary operations of devices in responseto a paging request according an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary operations of devices according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a conceptual diagram of a paging system according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Since the present invention may be modified in various forms and mayhave various embodiments, the following exemplary embodiments areillustrated in the accompanying drawings and are described in detailwith reference to the drawings.

However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specificembodiments and the present invention should be construed to encompassvarious changes, equivalents, and substitutions within the technicalscope and spirit of the invention. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout in the description of each drawing.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being,“connected” or “coupled,” to another element, it can be directly orindirectly connected or coupled to the other element or interveningelements that may be present. In contrast, when an element is referredto as being, “directly connected” or “directly coupled,” to anotherelement, there are no intervening elements present.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural formsas well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will befurther understood that the terms, “comprise” “comprising”, “include”,“including”, “have”/“has” and/or “having,” when used herein, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a “device” may be anydevice (or object) that can be applied to the IoT by being connected toa gateway. For example, devices may include a wireless pager, asmartphone, a tablet, a computer, a sensor (e.g. a temperature sensor, ahumidity sensor, an acoustic sensor, a motion sensor, a proximitysensor, a gas detection sensor, and a heat detection sensor), arefrigerator, CCTV, a display device, TV, a washing machine, adehumidifier, a lighting device, a fire alarm, and any electronicdevices, although such is not required.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a device may beinterchangeably used with “terminal,” “server,” or “apparatus.” Inaddition, the terms, “device,” “apparatus,” “server,” and “terminal,”may be described in the same or similar expression.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, device information ofa device may comprise information representing characteristics of thedevice. For example, the information may include an identificationvalue(s) or character(s) of the device, a device type, types andcharacteristics of data sensed by the device, and a sensing period ofthe device.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, services may includevarious services that may be provided by the device. Services mayinclude services based on the communication with a server, wired orwireless apparatus or system, terminal or any device, and/or servicesoperable within a device.

Preferably, services applied in certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure may be broadly understood to include various services thatcan be performed in a device in addition to services described by way ofexample in the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals will refer to thesame or like parts and description of the same configuration elementwill be omitted.

FIG. 1 illustrates beacon paging buttons according to exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure.

In an exemplary embodiment, when an input signal is input to a buttonunit of a beacon paging button, a predetermined beacon signal may betransmitted. In some embodiments, the beacon signal may be implementedas, for example, but not limited to, a Bluetooth power (BLE) beaconsignal. The BLE beacon signal transmitted by the beacon paging buttonmay be received by a beacon access point (AP), and the beacon AP mayreceive the BLE beacon signal from one or more beacon paging buttons.

The beacon paging button may include one or more of a display unit, abutton unit, a communication unit, and a control unit.

The display unit of the beacon paging button may display informationthat a button (or touch) input is available for a user who wants to pagesomeone. The display unit may output information by using a lightemitting device, such as liquid crystal, LCD, LED, TFT, etc., and ifnecessary, may display or output a printed image.

The button unit having a physical form, such as a push-button, mayreceive a physical input from a user and generate an electronic signalin response to the input from the user. Alternatively, the button unitmay include a touch screen and receive a user input by receiving a touchinput from the touch screen.

The communication unit may transmit a signal of the beacon paging buttonand receive signals from another device. For example, the communicationunit may transmit BLE beacon signals and transmit and/or receive signalsby using wired or wireless communication, such as cellularcommunication, Wi-Fi, NFC, Zigbee, etc.

The communication unit may use uni-casting, multi-casting, andbroadcasting methods as a method of transmitting beacon signals. Theuni-casting transmission method may be a one-to-one method, and thebeacon paging button may respectively perform uni-casting of a beaconsignal for another device. The multi-casting transmission method may bea method of transmitting the same beacon signal to a plurality ofreceivers at one time. The broadcasting transmission method may be amethod of indiscriminately transmitting a signal to a plurality of otherdevices. The beacon paging button may transmit a beacon signal by usingthe broadcasting transmission method for advertisement so that the otherdevices may find the beacon paging button.

The control unit may control signals input from or output to, thedisplay unit, button unit, and communication unit of the beacon pagingbutton, while processing data so that the beacon paging button canoperate as one device, although such is not required.

The beacon paging button may further include a fixing unit so that thebeacon paging button can be fixed at a specific position. For instance,the beacon paging button may be used in restaurants, bars, hospitals,hotels, factories, etc., and may be fixed at a table of the restaurant,a bed of the hospital or any place that the customers or users canreach. If necessary, the fixing unit may be detachable so that thebeacon paging button becomes portable.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the beacon pagingbutton may perform general functions as a mobile terminal, for example,but not limited to wireless communication and data processing. Forexample, the beacon paging button may be a paging button, smartphone,tablet, smart watch, PC, smart glass, smart ring, smart TV, personaldigital assistant (PDA), laptop, media player, micro server, globalpositioning system (GPS) device, electronic book device, digitalbroadcasting device, navigation, kiosk, MP3 player, digital camera, anysmart devices and other mobile or non-mobile computing device, but it isnot limited thereto.

FIG. 2 shows a beacon AP according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

The beacon AP may receive a signal transmitted from a beacon pagingbutton. The beacon AP may perform scanning for wireless signals, forexample, but not limited to, BLE signals, receive wireless signals, suchas a BLE signal and identify a transmission subject from the receivedwireless or BLE signal.

According to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, thebeacon AP may receive and/or transmit signals. For example, the beaconAP may transmit the received BLE signal to an operation sever. Thebeacon AP may be positioned within a range where the beacon AP iscapable of performing wireless communication with the beacon pagingbutton. When a near field wireless communication technology is applied,the beacon AP may be installed for each radius that may be recognized asthe same space.

Communication radius of the beacon AP may overlap with the radius ofanother beacon AP. For example, a beacon paging button positioned at aspecific space may perform wireless communication with a plurality ofbeacon APs. The beacon AP may identify which beacon paging button hastransmitted the BLE signal received by the beacon AP. In addition, abeacon AP that has identified the beacon paging button first or a beaconAP having the largest BLE signal receiving intensity may continuouslyperform wireless communication with the corresponding beacon pagingbutton.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a conceptual diagram of an embodiment of apaging system according to the present disclosure.

In the exemplary embodiment, a user may be a person who wants to pageother people. A user may be, for example, but not limited to, a customerof a restaurant, patient of a hospital, or employee of a factory. In theexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, for the convenience ofdescription, description is made by using a restaurant as an example.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a paging system mayinclude one or more of a beacon paging button, a beacon AP, anoperational server, a staff device, and a spatial management WEB server.

The beacon paging button may receive a button input from a user whowants to be provided with service and transmit a wireless signal, suchas a BLE signal, in association with the button input to the beacon AP.The beacon paging button may transmit a BLE signal to the beacon APperiodically or at a specific time slot even when a button input of auser is not input, although such is not required.

For example, the beacon paging button may transmit a signal, forexample, but not limited to, a BLE signal, corresponding to a pagingcommand when a customer pages one of staffs of a restaurant by using thebeacon paging button. In another example, the beacon paging button maytransmit a BLE signal corresponding to an order of a menu when acustomer selects a specific food listed in the menu of the restaurant(for example, a bottle of beer). The beacon paging button may broadcastaround a BLE signal periodically or non-periodically regardless of apaging command.

The beacon AP may receive the BLE signal transmitted from the beaconpaging button, and relay or transmit a signal corresponding to the BLEsignal to the operational server connected to the beacon AP in a wiredor wireless manner.

The beacon AP may periodically or non-periodically receive the BLEsignal transmitted from the beacon paging button and when a specificcode is included in the BLE signal, the beacon AP may determine that apaging request is present. When it is determined that the paging requestis present, the beacon AP may transmit a signal corresponding to the BLEsignal to the operational server.

The beacon AP may identify which beacon paging button has transmittedthe BLE signal. In some embodiments, identification information of thebeacon paging button may be included in a specific frame of the BLEsignal received by the beacon AP.

The operational server may control transmitting and receiving signalsbetween the beacon paging button(s) and the beacon AP(s). The beacon APmay identify which beacon paging button has transmitted a BLE signalbased on the received BLE signal. As described above, the beacon AP mayidentify the beacon paging button which has transmitted the BLE signal.Alternatively, regardless of the beacon paging button identificationperformed by the beacon AP, the operational server may identify thebeacon paging button that has transmitted the BLE signal. The beaconpaging button may transmit unique identification information with theBLE signal and/or may transmit the corresponding information included ina specific frame of the BLE signal.

The operational server may pre-store identification information of thebeacon paging buttons and specify or identify which beacon paging buttonhas transmitted a BLE signal by comparing the identification informationof the beacon paging button pre-stored in the operational server with aBLE signal received from the beacon paging buttons.

The operational server may transmit a paging signal to a staff device.The staff device may include a device of a staff who is the pagingrecipient. For example, the staff device may be a device, such as asmartphone or smart watch connected to a server in a restaurant.

The staff device may receive a paging signal from the operationalserver. The staff device, based on the received paging signal, maydisplay information of which beacon paging button has transmitted thepaging signal. In response to the information displayed on the staffdevice, the staff may move to a position where a user who has input thepaging request is present and provide a response service correspondingto the information displayed on the staff device.

A server, such as a spatial management WEB server, may check whether ornot a response service has been provided from the staff to the user whohas input the paging request and receive and manage the paging requestsfrom the user. In addition, the spatial management WEB server may storeand manage information related to the number of times that the beaconpaging button transmits signals, a transmission interval, etc. within acorresponding space as statistical values. By storing and analyzing datarelated to the user requests, such data can be used in a marketing toolor efficient operation.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a process or method for paging andresponding according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 shows an example ofcommunication between a device of a customer who wants to page at leastone of restaurant staffs who is the paging recipient, and a device of atleast one of restaurant staffs.

In the first step, a customer may input a paging request to be providedwith service. For example, the service may mean a broad conceptincluding a charged service, such as ordering food, free orcomplimentary services, such as requesting battery charging.

For example, the customer may press one time shortly a request beaconbutton, and the request beacon button may broadcast a wireless signal,such as a BLE signal, corresponding thereto when the request beaconbutton has received a command input corresponding to the paging requestfrom the customer.

The request beacon button may transmit a single paging signal, such asiBeacon signal or Eddystone-URL signal, or a specific signal when therequest beacon button receives a command input corresponding to a pagingrequest from the customer. The specific signal may be a signal includingadditional information rather than a single paging signal. Like themethod used in Google Chrome browser, a method of providing a physicalweb may be used to display a preset web page when a specific BLE signalis received. Accordingly, by using the request beacon button, a webpageon the Chrome browser of a smartphone may be displayed.

In the second step, the beacon AP may receive the BLE signal broadcastedfrom the request beacon button and the beacon AP may relay or transferthe BLE signal to the operational server. The operational server maytransmit a paging request signal to at least one staff device, forexample, but not limited to, a smart watch, a portable device, a tablet,a smartphone, or any device having wireless communication function, inresponse to the BLE signal.

In the third step, the device of the staff, for example, the smart watchworn by the staff of the restaurant, may display information related toor corresponding to the paging request signal transmitted from therequest button. In addition, a staff of the restaurant who is capable ofproviding the response service requested by the customer may input anacceptance or confirmation input to his or her device, such as a smartwatch, so that the paging receiver may be specified.

The operational server may store matching information between thecustomer and the restaurant staff, and may transmit a paging requestsignal of the customer to the device (e.g. the smart watch) of thecorresponding restaurant staff. For instance, the operational server maystore information on who, among restaurant staffs, have responded orreceived a paging request of a specific customer, and transmit a pagingrequest of the specific customer to the device of the restaurant staffwho have responded or received a paging request of a specific customerbefore. However, the operational server may transmit a paging requestsignal to one or more devices, such as a smart watch, of otherrestaurant staff when the operational server determines that a requestedservice of the restaurant staff who was paged may be delayed by morethan a predetermined time period. By one to one matching between acustomer and a restaurant staff, a service provider may providehigh-quality of service to their customers.

In the fourth step, the restaurant staff who has accepted to provide theresponse or requested service may go to the customer who has input thepaging request, and by performing tagging between the beacon pagingbutton of the table where the customer is present and the device (e.g. asmart watch) of the restaurant staff, the operational server may benotified that the restaurant staff is responding to a customer request.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, tagging may be an actof enabling communication between at least two electronic devices bybringing one or both electric devices within a certain distance of eachother. The tagging may include a contactless act, a proximity sensingtouch, or an actual physical touch. For example, when the smart watch ofthe restaurant staff approaches the beacon paging button of the tablewithin a certain distance, for example, but not limited to 10 cm,tagging may be performed by using a proximity sensor.

A server, for instance, but not limited to, an operational server or aspatial management WEB server, may measure time intervals from when acustomer inputs a paging request to when a restaurant staff accepts thepaging request, from when a customer inputs a paging request to whentagging is performed as the restaurant staff moves on the correspondingposition, and/or from when a customer inputs a paging request to whentagging is performed by the device of the restaurant staff. Theoperational server may store, accumulate and manage data on the measuredtime intervals, and the data can be used as statistical information forresponse services.

In the fifth step, the customer may interact with the restaurant staff(in person or face to face) to request a desired service to therestaurant staff. The restaurant staff may provide a service requestedby the customer, for example, but not limited to, ordering food orpayment requests.

FIG. 5 shows a flow chart for ordering food according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure.

The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5 shows an example ofcommunication between a device of a customer who wants to input a pagingrequest and at least one device of at least one restaurant staff whobecomes a paging recipient or receiver.

In the first step, a customer may input a paging request, for example,but not limited to, when requesting a service, such as requesting a menuor the check, asking questions, and when needing to talk to a personworking at the restaurant.

The customer may shortly press a table beacon button one time and thetable beacon button may transmit a wireless signal, for example, but notlimited to, a BLE signal, when the table beacon button has received acommand input corresponding to the paging request from the customer.

The beacon AP may receive the BLE signal transmitted from the tablebeacon button and a server (e.g., an operational server) may transmit apath for accessing a web page that a web or online order of therestaurant is available by using the corresponding table beacon button.

A device, provided on a table or bar, can display an electronic menuenabling a customer to make a web or online order. The device may be,for instance, but not limited to, a table, smartphone, portable device,or any device having a display. Each device may have a uniqueidentification information. The device for providing online orderservice may be connected to the table beacon button in a wired and/orwireless manner, and/or may display an electronic menu so that thedevice can provide online order service to the customer through theelectronic menu of the device.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a device of thecustomer, such as a portable device, a smart device, like smartphone anda smart watch, a tablet, a personal computer and any electronic devicethat can be connected to the server, may display an electronic menuenabling the customer to input a web order. When information oridentification of the device of the customer has been registered orregistered previously in the operational server, the electronic menu maybe displayed on the device of the customer in response to a customerpressing the table beacon button.

There may be various examples of cases when information oridentification of a device of a customer has been registered orregistered in the operational server. In the first example, the advanceregistration may be performed by directly performing wirelesscommunication between the wireless device, such as a smartphone of thecustomer and the table beacon button. For example, the beacon AP as wellas the wireless device of the customer may receive a wireless signal,e.g., a BLE signal, broadcasted from the table beacon button and thecustomer may authenticate the table beacon button by using thecustomer's wireless device. After establishing a session between thetable beacon button and the wireless device of the customer, thecustomer may proceed with the next process by using or pressing thetable beacon button.

In the second example, the advance registration may be performed byinputting identification information of the table beacon button throughthe device, such as a smartphone, of the customer. For example, eachtable beacon button has been assigned unique identification number(s)and/or character(s) (for example, ID number and/or character) may beassigned and the unique identification numbers and/or characters of thetable beacon buttons may be stored or registered on the web.Additionally, the table beacon button may be registered on the device ofthe customer by capturing or inputting a QR code, or by performing NFCtagging.

When the identification information of the table beacon button has beenregistered on the device of the customer, the operational server maystart to provide a service on the assumption that the customer ispresent at the table corresponding to the registered table beaconbutton.

In the third example, the advance registration may be performed byperforming communication with a device of a customer within apredetermined or specific space so that the operational server canautomatically match the device of the customer to the correspondingtable beacon button. For example, the customer's smartphone may receivea signal transmitted from a server associated with a restaurant by awireless communication method, for example, but not limited to, WiFi orBluetooth installed in a specific space of the restaurant and each ofthe table beacon buttons may transmit a wireless signal, such as a BLEsignal, which is different from each other. The smartphone of thecustomer may perform the next operation by matching the signal of therestaurant with the BLE signal (if necessary, matching between devicesthat have the strongest signal receiving intensity).

The beacon AP may receive the BLE signal broadcasted from the tablebeacon button, and the beacon AP may relay or transmit the BLE signal tothe operational server. The operational server may transmit a pagingrequest signal to at least one device of a staff, for example, but notlimited to, a preset smart watch, a portable device, a wirelesscommunication device, a device having a display, a tablet, a personalcomputer, a terminal and any device that can communicate with theserver.

In the second step, the customer may input an order based on theinformation displayed in the electronic menu. In this step, preferably,the order may mean ordering a food that may be selected from theelectronic menu. The ordering may be proceeded by using an input fromthe customer, such as text or voice and selectable items displayed onthe electronic menu.

The customer may be simply provided with or order different food itemsselectable from the electronic menu. Alternatively, the customer may beprovided with various types of information related to the electronicmenu. The device displaying the electronic menu may providedevice-related information, for instance, but not limited to,information related to table PC located on or adjacent to the table or asmartphone of the customer. For example, the device may display, when acustomer is ordering food through the electronic menu, nutritionalinformation such as calories, menu information such as recommendeditems, previously ordered information, payment information, etc.

In the third step, the operational server may receive, identify and/orspecify the customer's order based on the received BLE information andorder information. For example, the operational server may receive,identify and/or specify that a steak combo meal set was ordered from thetable number 3.

The operational server may transmit the order information to a device ofa restaurant staff, such as smart watch of the restaurant staff and thesmart watch of the restaurant staff may receive the order information.The smart watch worn by the restaurant staff or the device carried bythe restaurant staff may display the information in which table beaconbutton has transmitted the paging request. For instance, the device ofthe restaurant staff may display location identifier, for example, butnot limited to, the table number or the table location corresponding tothe table beacon button transmitted the paging request.

In the fourth step, the device of a restaurant staff such as the smartwatch may receive input of acceptance information to provide a responseservice for the order information and the server may create matchinginformation between the customer or table and the restaurant staff andstore that the restaurant staff inputting the acceptance information isa paging receiver of the table corresponding to the table beacon buttontransmitting the paging request.

During the fourth step, the operational server may store matchinginformation between the customer table and the restaurant staff. Aftermatching information between the customer or table and the restaurantstaff, the information is stored in the server when the server receivesa paging request signal from the same customer or table, the server maytransmit the paging request signal to the smart watch of the samerestaurant staff who has responded before based on the stored matchinginformation. However, the operational server may transmit the pagingrequest signal to one or more devices, such as a smart watch to otherrestaurant staff(s) when the operational server estimates or determinesthat the restaurant staff who is matched with the customer or table bythe matching information may delay a service corresponding to the pagingrequest signal or cannot provide such service within a predeterminedtime. Because the paging system provides one to one matching between acustomer and restaurant staff, the restaurant may provide higher qualityservice to the customer.

In the fifth step, the restaurant staff who has accepted to provide theresponse service may bring the food to the position of the table orcustomer who has inputted the paging request through the paging button.By performing tagging between the paging button of the table where thecustomer is present and the device of the restaurant staff, the pagingbutton and/or the device of the restaurant staff can transmit to aserver information that the restaurant staff is actually providing theresponse service in response to the customer's request.

A server, for instance, but not limited to, an operational server or aspatial management WEB server, may measure time intervals from when thecustomer inputs the paging request to when the restaurant staff acceptsthe paging request, from when the customer inputs the paging request towhen tagging is performed as the restaurant staff moves to thecorresponding position, and/or from when a customer inputs a pagingrequest to when tagging is performed by the device of the restaurantstaff. The operational server may store, accumulate and manage data onthe measured time intervals, and the data can be used as statisticalinformation for response services.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of exemplary operations of devices in responseto a paging request according an embodiment of the present disclosure.

A paging button 610 may include an input part. In step S601, the pagingbutton 610 may receive input from a user or customer who wants to inputa paging request and generate a paging command signal in response to theuser's input. The paging button 610 may transmit a paging signal whichmay be a wireless signal, for example, but not limited to, a BLE beaconsignal, to an AP 620 in response to the paging command signal.

In step S602, the AP 620 may receive the BLE beacon signal from at leastone paging button 610. Wireless communication, such as Bluetooth, WiFi,NFC, Zigbee, etc. may be performed between the paging button 610 and theAP 620.

The AP 620 may transmit the received paging signal to an operationalserver 630. For example, the operational server 630 may comprise anapparatus being capable of supporting transmission and reception ofinformation between the paging button 610, a beacon, and a restaurantstaff's device 640.

In step S603, the operational server 630 may identify or specify whichpaging button has transmitted a paging request based on the pagingsignal received from the AP 620. For example, the BLE beacon signaltransmitted from the paging button 610 may include information capableof identifying the paging button 610.

In step S604, the operational server 630, after identifying orspecifying which paging button 610 has transmitted the paging request,may transmit the paging signal to at least one device 640 of therestaurant staff connected to the operational server 630. For example,an operational server of a specific restaurant may transmit a pagingsignal to a smart watch, a tablet, a portable device, a smart device, orany wireless communication device of at least one restaurant staff(server).

In step S605, each device 640 of the restaurant staff may receive thepaging signal from the operational server 630. The device 640 carried bythe restaurant staff may include a display unit that can display paginginformation. For example, the smart watch or tablet 630 carried by therestaurant staff may display information that a paging request is fromthe table 3 of the restaurant.

One of the restaurant serving staffs who carries or wears the device 640(e.g. a smart watch) may input, through the device 640, acceptanceinformation indicating that that server is willing to handle the pagingrequest.

In step S606, the staff device or the smart watch 640 may transmit amatching signal indicating that one or more restaurant serving staffsamong restaurant staffs carrying or wearing the staff device or thesmart watch 640 will respond to or serve the paging request to theoperational server 630.

In step S607, the operational server 630 may transmit to the smart watchor the device 640 of the staff a matching confirmation signalindicating, which device or smart watch of the staff is matched with thepaging request of the customer. The device 640 of the staff may receivethe matching confirmation signal from the operational server 630 anddisplay or notify information of the matching confirmation signal, andtherefore the restaurant serving staff who has on or is wearing theportable device or the smart watch 640 may check the matchingconfirmation information and confirm that the matching process iscompleted.

When the operational server 630 receives acceptance information from aplurality of devices or smart watches 640 of the staffs, the operationalserver 630 may determine which device among the devices 640 of thestaffs sent the acceptance information, or who among the staffs sent theacceptance information through the staff devices 640, is matched to thepaging request or the paging button 610 which sent the paging request byusing various predetermined conditions or preset factors.

In one example, the matching process may be performed to the device orthe smart watch 640 of the staff that has transmitted first a matchingsignal to the operational server 630. Optionally, the operational server630 may transmit to a device or a smart watch 340 of a staff having lowpriority a matching confirmation signal indicating that the matchingprocess has been or will be performed with another device or smart watchof another staff having high priority.

In another example, the operational server 630 may perform matching withthe device or the smart watch 640 of the staff, which has low priorityamong the devices of staffs transmitting matching signals, when thatdevice or smart watch 630 is determined to be an idle state according topredetermined factors for the matching process. Optionally, theoperational server 630 may transmit to devices or smart watches ofstaffs not matched to the page request or the paging bell 610 a matchingconfirmation signal indicating that the matching process has been orwill be performed with another device or smart watch or another staff.

In step S608, tagging may be performed between the device or smart watch640 of the staff and the paging button 610. For example, a restaurantstaff carrying or wearing the device or smart watch 640 may move to aposition where the paging button 610 is located and perform the tagging,for example, by tagging the device 460 of the staff to the paging button610 so as to notify that the staff has moved to or near the positionassociated with the paging button 610. The tagging may not require aphysical contact. For example, the tagging may be performed by checkingthat devices are approaching within a certain distance range by using aproximity sensor.

In step S609, the customer who has pressed the paging button 610 and therestaurant staff carrying or wearing the device or the smart watch 640may interact so that a customer request may be serviced. For example,the restaurant staff may provide a response service for a food order orspecial request from the customer.

The paging button 610 may transmit feedback for the response service tothe AP 620 after the tagging being performed. For example, after servingby the restaurant staff is completed, the paging button 610 maycontinuously transmit BLE beacon signals to the AP 620, and theoperational server 630 may statistically manage how much time has passedfrom the last response time based on the above information.

FIG. 7 illustrates exemplary operations of devices according to anotherembodiment of the present disclosure.

The exemplary embodiment related to FIG. 6 generally describes a processthat a customer pages a restaurant staff by pressing a paging button.The exemplary embodiment related to FIG. 7 will describe a process thata customer can transfer a specific request from a customer by inputtinga stall paging request before facing a restaurant staff.

A paging button 710 may include an input part. In step S701, the pagingbutton 710 may receive input from a customer (or user) who wants to pagesomeone within a restaurant through the input part, and generate apaging commend signal in response to the customer's input. The pagingbutton 710 may transmit a page signal, which is a wireless signal, suchas a BLE beacon signal, to an AP 720 when the paging command signal isreceived.

In step S702, the AP 720 may receive the wireless signal (e.g., the BLEbeacon signal) from at least one paging button 710. Wirelesscommunication such as Bluetooth, WiFi, NFC, Zigbee, etc. may beperformed between the paging button 710 and the AP 720.

The AP 720 may transmit the received paging signal to the operationalserver 730. For example, the operational server 730 may comprise anapparatus being capable of supporting transmission and reception of theinformation between the paging button 710, the AP 720, and a restaurantstaff's device 740, such as a smart watch.

In step S703, the operational server 730 may identify or specify whichpaging button has transmitted the paging signal based on the pagingsignal received from the AP 720. For example, the BLE beacon signaltransmitted from the paging button 710 may include information foridentifying the paging button 710.

The operational server 730 may provide web order information oravailable service list information to a device 750, such as asmartphone, of a customer or user associated with one of paging buttons710. The device of the customer 750 may be a device positioned at ornear the table or space of the paging button and/or belonging to arestaurant. The server 730 may match and store identificationinformation of the paging button 710 and identification information ofthe device or smartphone 750 of the customer in advance, and the server730 may provide web order information and/or available service listinformation to the device or smartphone 750 of the customer.

The device 750 of the customer, for example, but not limited to, acustomer's portable device, may be a device belonging to a customer whohas inputted a paging request. Alternatively, the device 750 of thecustomer may be a device that belongs to a restaurant and located at ornear a bar or table. The device can be used only within the area allowedby the restaurant. The operational server 730 may perform a process ofmatching identification information of the paging button 710 withidentification information of the device or smartphone 750 of thecustomer.

The matching process of the identification information of the smartphoneof is performed customer by the operational server in advance may beimplemented as various exemplary embodiments. First, pre-registrationmay be performed by directly performing wireless communication betweenthe smartphone or portable device of the customer and the paging buttonlocated near or at the table or bar. For example, the AP and the deviceof the customer may receive a wireless signal, for example, but notlimited to a BLE signal, broadcasted from the paging button, and thecustomer may authenticate the paging button that the customer wants touse or which is located near the customer by using the customer's deviceor smartphone. After setting session between the paging button and thedevice or smartphone of the customer, the customer may progress nextprocess by pressing the table beacon button.

Second, identification information of the paging button may be inputtedthrough the smartphone of the customer. For example, a uniqueidentification number, characters or combination thereof of the pagingbutton (for example, ID number) may be registered on the web, or thepaging button may be registered on the smartphone of the customer bycapturing and inputting a QR or bar code, or by performing NFC tagging.

When the identification information of the paging button has beenregistered on the device or smartphone of the customer, the operationalserver may provide a service to the customer on the assumption thatcustomer is present at the table corresponding to the paging button.

Third, when the smartphone performs communication within a specificspace, the operational server may automatically perform relationmatching between the corresponding paging button and the device orsmartphone of the customer. For example, the customer's smartphone mayreceive a signal transmitted from the restaurant by a wirelesscommunication method, such as WiFi or Bluetooth installed in a specificspace of the restaurant and the paging button may transmit a BLE signaldifferent from those of other paging buttons. The device or smartphoneof the customer may perform next operation by matching the signal of therestaurant with the BLE signal (if necessary, matching between differentdevices depending on the strength of the signal).

Fourth, the device or smartphone of the customer may transmitreservation information to the operational server in advance, theoperational server may perform matching between the device or smartphoneof the customer and the paging button in advance, and the operationalserver may directly receive web order information from the device orsmartphone of the customer. For example, a customer may make reservationfor a table of a restaurant in advance, for example, a Table 3 next tothe window at 7 p.m., and the operational server may perform matchingassociating the device smartphone of the customer at 7 p.m. to or withTable 3 which is reserved by the customer.

In step S704, the device or smartphone 750 of the customer may displayan electronic menu based on the web order information. The electronicmenu may be a web menu or a menu displayed by executing a specificapplication program, or any menu in the electronic form.

A user of the device or smartphone 750 may order food based on theinformation displayed on the electronic menu or request service amongavailable services displayed on the available service list. For example,the user may input a food order of a steak combo meal displayed on thesmartphone 750. In this step, the order may comprise ordering a foodthat may be selected from the electronic menu. The ordering may beproceeded by using an input such as text or voice or providingselectable menu on the electronic menu.

In step S705, the device of the customer or the smartphone 750 maytransmit order information received from the customer, to theoperational server 730.

In step S706, the operational server 730 may transmit the orderinformation to at least one device or smart watch 740 of at least onestaff. For example, the operational server 730 of the restaurant maytransmit the order information to a smart watch or tablet 740 worn by orcarried by a serving staff (server) of the restaurant. For example,information indicating that a steak combo meal was ordered by Table 3may be transmitted.

In step S707, the smart watch 740 having been received the orderinformation may display which customer has made the order and which itemor service the customer ordered or requested, and the restaurant staffwearing or carrying the smart watch or portable device 740 may check theinformation on the customer, the table, the order and/or the requestedservice.

In step S708, the restaurant staff may transmit to the operationalserver 730 matching information indicating the he or she is responsiblefor the corresponding order and will provide the requested service.

In step S709, the operational server 730 may perform matching betweenthe customer (or the table or the device of the customer) and therestaurant staff (or the device of the staff) in association with thedevice of the staff, such as a smart watch, that has transmitted thematching information. After performing matching, matching confirmationinformation may be transmitted to other devices or smart watches ofother staffs in addition to the matched smart watch of the staff,although such is not required. For instance, the matching confirmationinformation may be transmitted to the matched smart watch of the staff,as well as to other smart watches of other staff not being matched sothat the matching information may be shared among the customer and/orrestaurant staffs. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure may provide a customized customer service.

In step S710, tagging may be performed between the device 740 of thestaff and the device 750 of the customer, such as between the smartwatch 740 and the smartphone 750, and this may be used as informationrepresenting that the matched restaurant staff is serving the customerwho has made the order or has requested the specific service.

After completing the tagging, the paging button may continuouslytransmit wireless signal, such as BLE beacon signals, etc. even afterserving the corresponding paging request that has been completed toprovide convenience to the customer. For example, after bringing themenu, after elapsing a predetermined time such as ten minutes, therestaurant staff may move again to the customer, and thus provide anenvironment of checking whether the customer needs additional service ororder.

FIG. 8 shows a conceptual diagram of a paging system according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 8, an operational server may provide an additionalservice for a spatial management WEB server and customer responseservice. The operational server may be a subject or server that mayperform communication with a paging button and/or an AP. The spatialmanagement WEB server may be a server managing a response servicebetween an actual customer and a restaurant staff.

The spatial management WEB server may transmit various types ofinformation to a customer device based on paging information of thecustomer. The customer device may be a device belonging to the customeror may be a device belonging to the restaurant, which is positioned ator near the space of the customer.

The spatial management WEB server may transmit to the customer anaccumulated order list of the customer when the customer is identified,thus enabling the customer to easily make an order. In the restaurant,the server may provide or transmit recommendation information on apopular food or a food based on health related information to thecustomer via the customer's device. Alternatively, the order listinformation made by another customer or estimated temporal informationfor the food may be transmitted.

The spatial management WEB server may automatically transmit a signalfor sending a restaurant staff to provide an easy order when orderinformation has not been received from the customer for a predeterminedtime or more. Herein, the restaurant staff may directly move to theposition where the customer is present to support an easy order or thecustomer.

The spatial management WEB server may provide various types of contentsto a customer device. For example, TV videos related to the order fromthe menu chosen by the customer may be provided. The customer may beprovided with higher quality service based on the received content.

After completing the order, the spatial management WEB server mayprovide game contents to a customer device. By providing associated gamecontents to the customer's device or providing benefits to the gameplayed by the customer after completing the order, game contents may beprovided until an actual service is provided.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the paging button and thecustomer device, such as a smartphone, are described as separatedevices. However, when the customer device is capable of transmitting aBLE beacon signal, the paging button and the customer's device may beimplemented as a single device, although such is not required. Forexample, the paging button and the customer's device, such as asmartphone or tablet, which are provided in or located near the table ofthe restaurant may be one single device and perform a paging requestand/or an order request.

The description suggests some exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure to provide an example that explains the present invention andalso enables one skilled in the art to manufacture and use of thepresent invention. The specification drafted as such is not limited todetailed terms suggested in the specification.

Accordingly, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications, changes, and variations may be made in theexample without departing from the scope of the invention. For example,in order to achieve the effect intended by the present invention, it isto be noted that all the functional blocks shown in the attached drawingmay not be needed to achieve the effect desired by the presentdisclosure and even that case may be included in the technical scope ofthe present disclosure defined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A server, comprising: one or moreprocessors; and memory storing executable instructions that, if executedby the one or more processors, configure the server to: receive a firstsignal transmitted from a customer device, the first signal including atleast one paging request and an identifier corresponding to the customerdevice; transmit, to at least one portable device, a second signalincluding information on the paging request and the identifiercorresponding to the customer device that transmits the first signal;receive, from the at least one portable device, a third signal which istransmitted in response to an acceptance input responded to the pagingrequest; and transmit, to the at least one portable device, a fourthsignal indicating that the at least one portable device transmitting thethird signal is matched with the identifier corresponding to thecustomer device in response to the third signal received from the atleast one portable device.
 2. The server of claim 1, wherein theidentifier comprises a table number or a predetermined location.
 3. Theserver of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to, when theserver receives a plurality of the third signals from a plurality of theat least one portable device, select one of the plurality of the atleast one portable device according to at least one predetermined factorand match the selected portable device with the identifier correspondingto the customer device.
 4. The server of claim 3, wherein the processoris configured to select a portable device, from which the serverreceives the third signal first, among the plurality of the at least oneportable device for a predetermined time.
 5. The server of claim 1,wherein the processor is configured to receive, from a paging orordering button, the customer device and/or the at least one portabledevice, a fifth signal including tagging or scanning information betweenthe paging or ordering button, the customer device and/or the at leastone portable device.
 6. The server of claim 5, wherein the tagging orscanning information is generated when at least two of the paging orordering button, the customer device, and the at least one portabledevice are in contact with each other.
 7. The server of claim 5, whereinthe tagging or scanning information is generated when at least two ofthe paging or ordering button, the customer device, and the at least oneportable device are positioned within a preset distance range.
 8. Theserver of claim 1, wherein the customer device is configured to receiveweb order information from the server.
 9. The server of claim 1, whereinthe processor is configured to perform matching between one of paging orordering buttons and the customer device.
 10. A paging method,comprising: receiving, by a server, a first signal transmitted from acustomer device, the first signal including at least one paging requestand an identifier corresponding to the customer device; transmitting, bythe server, to at least one portable device a second signal includinginformation on the paging request and the identifier corresponding tothe customer device that transmits the first signal; receiving, by theserver, a third signal which is transmitted from the at least oneportable device in response to an acceptance input responded to thepaging request; and transmitting, by the server, to the at least oneportable device a fourth signal indicating that the at least oneportable device transmitting the third signal is matched with theidentifier corresponding to the customer device in response to the thirdsignal received from the at least one portable device.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the identifier comprises a table number or apredetermined location.
 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising,when the server receives a plurality of the third signals from aplurality of the at least one portable device, selecting, by the server,one of the plurality of the at least one portable device according to atleast one predetermined factor and matching the selected portable devicewith the identifier corresponding to the customer device.
 13. The methodof claim 12, wherein the server selects a portable device, from whichthe server receives the third signal first, among the plurality of theat least one portable device for a predetermined time.
 14. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising receiving, by the server, a fifth signalincluding tagging or scanning information between the paging or orderingbutton, the customer device and/or the at least one portable device froma paging or ordering button, the customer device and/or the at least oneportable device.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the tagging orscanning information is generated when at least two of the paging orordering button, the customer device, and the at least one portabledevice are in contact with each other.
 16. The method of claim 14,wherein the tagging or scanning information is generated when at leasttwo of the paging or ordering button, the customer device, and the atleast one portable device are positioned within a preset distance range.17. The method of claim 10, wherein the customer device receives weborder information from the server.
 18. The method of claim 10, whereinthe server performs matching between one of paging or ordering buttonsand the customer device.